How to extract text from a screenshot in Windows

  • Microsoft has integrated a useful feature in Windows 11 to extract text from screenshots.
  • The feature improves productivity by eliminating the need to manually transcribe text.
  • Microsoft protects privacy by hiding sensitive information in screenshots.
  • Future updates will allow text to be captured from images on mobile devices remotely.
Daniel Terrasa

5 minutes

extract text image

Recently, Microsoft has implemented a very practical function that allows us extract text from screenshots in Windows. All with a simple click. In this post we show you what to do to activate this function on our PC.

This is one of the many improvements that Windows 11 added in each new update, such as auto-save for the notepad or dynamic refresh on monitors, among other things. Extracting text from a screenshot (from a news item in the digital press, from an image, etc.) can be a really useful resource on many occasions.

It is a much more practical and simple method than capturing it and then manually transcribing all the written information it contains. For students and workers, a trick that can save you enormous time and effort.

The new function is integrated into the latest version of the well-known Snipping tool that all Windows computers have.

How to implement this feature

extract text from image windows

To activate the function of extracting text from screenshots in Windows on our computer we must have one of the following: the latest versions of Windows 11, in which it is already installed as standard. But it is also possible to install it in the stable version of the system, following these steps:

  1. First of all, we must access this website.
  2. Then, in the drop-down menu on the left, we select ProductID and in the center text box we paste the following code: 9MZ95KL8MR0L. In the drop-down menu on the right, we choose the option "Fast".
  3. Clicking on «OK», a list of results appears like the one shown in the image above. There we look for the version 2022.2308.33.0 that has the extension MSIXBUNDLE.
  4. Once found, we right click and select the option "Save Link As" to download the file to our computer.
  5. Finally, on the PC we open the file with a double click. That will install a new version of the “Snipping Tool” app, where we find the function that interests us.

Extract text from a screenshot in Windows with the "Snipping" tool

cutouts windows 11

Now that we have implemented the text extraction function from an image captured in "Croppings", let's see how to use it. It is simply a matter of executing the following steps:

  1. To start with, we have to open the “Snipping” application from the start menu or through the Windows + Shift + S key combination.
  2. When a appears pop-up window In the lower right corner of the screen, we click on it.
  3. Next we go to the top of the screen, where the new available functions are found. The button we must choose is Text Actions. When you press it, all visible text in the screenshot will be highlighted.
  4. To finish, all that remains is select text from image (or select everything by right-clicking with the mouse) and copy it into any word processing program.

There is only one limit to extracting text from screenshots in Windows using the “Snipping” app: the one set by privacy. To cover its back, Microsoft has made the decision to hide personal and sensitive information (such as phone numbers or email addresses) in the screenshots. This type of data appears covered or crossed out in black.

Remote capture: coming soon

Although the option is not available yet, Windows is already working hard to ensure that the ability to extract text from a screenshot can also be done.from the screen of a mobile phone, remotely.

How is it going to work? In a really simple way: every time we take a screenshot with our mobile phone, it will be possible to access it automatically (or edit it from the computer if it is connected to the smartphone). On the PC we will receive a notification informing us that a new screenshot has been recorded on our mobile phone, which we can modify. And among the modification options, there will also be the possibility of extracting the text it contains.

But to see this we will still have to wait a little. Maybe until the next Windows 11 update, who knows.

Conclusion

We can only talk about a breakthrough when rating the new feature of extracting text from screenshots taken in Windows 11 using the Snipping tool. Thanks to it, copying text from an image is no longer a long and cumbersome task. It allows us to access content that we will later be able to use in many ways and, both in our work and in studies, increase our productivity.

Finally, it should be noted that this and other advances are a consequence of the application of artificial intelligence in the field of text recognition. Something that until just a few years ago seemed impossible, today is a reality.


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